OSHA is conducting fewer health inspections despite more workplace exposure to toxic and hazardous substances, according to an analysis by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The group claims that occupational exposures are linked to the premature deaths of 10 times more workers than all workplace accidents combined. But, according to PEER, OSHA is spending less than five percent of its resources on health protection.
PEER says the following conclusions are based on data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit:
• The number of exposure measurements conducted is shrinking. OSHA took about 53,000 samples in 2007 (the most recent year studied), compared to three times that many in 1988.
• At the current rate of health inspections, it would take OSHA about 600 years to make chemical-exposure measurements at half the facilities that handle hazardous substances.
• The Obama administration has taken no steps to reverse the downward trend, but instead, continues to focus on the total number of inspections (health and safety) completed.
“Workplace exposures have spawned a silent epidemic in America,” said PEER executive director Jeff Ruch. “The health risks in some occupations are so high that your career choice can determine your life expectancy.”